All pieces fit in final year: UALR forward plays his way into all-sun belt first-team selection.

Shane Edwards' breakout senior season has much to do with Arkansas-Little Rock winning the Sun Belt Conference West Division and getting the Trojans one of the top seeds in the league's postseason tournament.

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Everyone who has faced the Trojans has taken note of the 6-foot-7 forward's improved play this season. During one eight-game stretch in January and February, Edwards averaged more than five points over his season clip of 11.7 points per game. Often in tight games or when the team was in dire straits, he put them on his shoulders.

"He may be the best player in our league. He's certainly one of the best," Arkansas State coach John Brady said just moments after Edwards had beaten his Red Wolves with a one-on-one move and bucket in the waning seconds of a game Feb. 12.

Edwards was named to the Sun Belt men's All-Conference first-team on March 3. He was the only Trojan to make any of the all-league teams, though fellow senior John Fowler was named Sun Belt defensive player of the year.

Edwards' progress seems typical of a junior college transfer: The first year is full of ups and downs, but some promise is seen; then, it all seems to come together during the second year.

But UALR coach Steve Shields says that Edwards' development has been aided by a variety of factors on campus during the off season.

First, assistant coach Joe Kleine, a 15-year veteran of the NBA as a center, gets the credit for working with Edwards on his post play in individual drills.

When Edwards arrived, he weighed just 180 pounds. Now at 210 pounds, that credit goes to UALR strength coach John Barron.

Edwards and fellow senior Brandon Patterson, who transferred two years ago from Ole Miss, also leaned this year on a UALR professor, Don Streit, who volunteered his psychology skills to improving players' mental focus.

Down the stretch of the conference season, Edwards played as well as some of the greats in UALR basketball history. The team finished 15-3 in the conference, the school's best Sun Belt mark. UALR carried a 22-7 mark into the post-season tournament. One other school mark that will be hard to top by future teams is the 11 road wins the Trojans amassed behind the heady play of Edwards and three other seniors.

"Oh, man, I just think he's playing with so much confidence right now," Shields said. "He's playing with an enormous amount of confidence and he's been a very good leader for our basketball team."

Edwards, a native of Gilbert, Ariz., who played junior college basketball at Northeastern Junior College near Denver, says it's only natural in the second year at a program to know what to expect. "It's easier to fit into the program. A lot of the success I've had has been knowing what to expect and to go home from the previous season and work on what I needed to work on," he said.

Some of those other areas that received Edwards' attention back home in Phoenix during the summer included his ball-handling, his jump shot, free-throw shooting--all the basics.

"That's when guys get better, during the off-season. I made up my mind to go home and do whatever it took to try and make the best of this season."

Edwards wasn't originally headed to Arkansas from junior college, but when his original choice, Colorado State, let its head coach go, Edwards turned to his junior college coach for some advice. Eddie Trenkle knew Joe Kleine and suggested UALR as a destination.

So, while Long Beach State got a visit from Edwards the beach lost out to inland Little Rock.

"It is a little different out here, but I adjusted to it. I like it out here," Edwards said. "It was something new for me, but that's what I wanted, to kind of get away from home and just try to find something new. It was a good fit for me and I'm enjoying every minute of it."

Edwards says he'd like to continue and play professionally, but when the playing days are over, look for him to be helping youngsters learn the game as a coach. His major at UALR is health sciences.

While UALR has accomplished much during the season, Edwards says he'll be disappointed if the Trojans can't take advantage of having the Sun Belt Conference tourney in nearby Hot Springs and win their way to the NCAA Tournament. Likely standing in the way will be Western Kentucky, who earned the league's overall top seed with two wins over UALR despite having the same conference record.

"It would be a letdown not to get there," Edwards said, "but I know what we've put into the season and all the hard work we've put in during the summer and preseason."

Nobody exemplifies that effort more than Edwards himself.

SHANE EDWARDS

FIVE QUESTIONS

What's in your CD player or iPod? Lil' Wayne. Mostly it's Lil' Wayne. For R&B it's Trey Songz.

Do people tell you that you look like Kobi Bryant? I've probably gotten that in the past but nobody here has said it (laughing).

Who is your favorite NBA player to watch or emulate? I watch a number of guys. I watch Kobi, Carmelo Anthony, Allen Iverson, LeBron James. I just try to take my game and take a piece from the great prayers. I really don't have a favorite that I can say I watch all. the time.

Is there a team you follow? I watch the Nuggets, the Lakers. I don't focus on one team, I just watch the great players. I was in Colorado so I guess that's why I follow the Nuggets some ... I like Carmelo Anthony's game.

It's your turn to pick dinner for the team; where are we going? I'm not sure if they have the place out here, but I'd say we're going to the Cheesecake Factory. We hang out at different places around here, like Applebee's, IHop, just local places. We don't go too extreme with it.